Breakdown of Att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp är svårt för honom.
Questions & Answers about Att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp är svårt för honom.
In Swedish, att + infinitive (the dictionary form of the verb) is used much like “to + verb” in English.
- att ta = to take
- att acceptera = to accept
Here, Att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp is functioning as the subject of the sentence:
- Att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp är svårt för honom.
→ To take responsibility and accept help is difficult for him.
So the whole att + verb phrase is treated as a thing, just like English “To do X is hard” or “Doing X is hard.”
Both forms are grammatically correct:
- Att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp är svårt för honom.
- Att ta ansvar och att acceptera hjälp är svårt för honom.
In practice:
- Swedish often uses att only once before a series of infinitives connected by och:
- att äta, dricka och sova
- Repeating att can sound more formal or emphatic:
- att leva och att dö (a bit more solemn / emphasized)
In everyday speech and writing, omitting the second att (as in your sentence) is very natural and common.
Ansvar is usually treated as an abstract noun or mass noun, and in such uses Swedish normally does not use an article:
- ta ansvar = take responsibility
- ha ansvar = have responsibility
Compare:
- Jag vill ta ansvar. = I want to take responsibility.
- Du har mycket ansvar. = You have a lot of responsibility.
You would only use ett ansvar in more specific, countable meanings, for example:
- Han har ett stort ansvar som chef.
He has a big responsibility as a manager.
In your sentence, it’s the general idea of “responsibility,” so no article is used: ta ansvar.
Like ansvar, hjälp is often an uncountable / mass noun in Swedish:
- behöva hjälp = need help
- få hjälp = get help
- ge hjälp = give help
So saying acceptera hjälp (accept help) is the normal, idiomatic way.
You can use en hjälp in some special or idiomatic expressions, but it’s much less common and often means “a kind of help” or appears in fixed phrases:
- Det var en stor hjälp. = That was a big help.
In your sentence, it refers to help in general, so no article: acceptera hjälp.
Svår is an adjective, and adjectives in Swedish agree with the gender and number of the noun (or with the kind of subject).
Basic forms:
- svår – common gender, singular (en-words)
- svårt – neuter, singular (ett-words) or when referring to a clause / situation
- svåra – plural or definite
Here, the subject of the sentence is Att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp, i.e. a whole action / situation, not a concrete noun. In such cases, Swedish usually uses the neuter form of the adjective:
- Det är svårt. = It is difficult.
- Att springa fort är svårt.
Running fast is difficult.
So svårt (neuter form) is correct here. Using svår would sound ungrammatical.
In Swedish, the typical way to say “difficult for someone” is:
- svårt för någon
Examples:
- Det är svårt för mig. = It’s difficult for me.
- Matten är svår för henne. = Math is hard for her.
So:
- svårt för honom = difficult for him
Till usually expresses direction or movement to someone/something:
- Ge boken till honom. = Give the book to him.
Because the meaning is “difficult for him (from his perspective)”, för is the correct preposition.
Both refer to “he / him”, but they are used in different grammatical roles:
- han = subject form (he)
- Han tar ansvar. = He takes responsibility.
- honom = object form (him)
- Det är svårt för honom. = It is difficult for him.
In your sentence, honom is the object of the preposition för, so the object form is required:
- … är svårt för honom.
… is difficult for him.
Yes, this is normal and grammatically correct.
Swedish main clauses usually follow V2 word order (the verb is in the second position). Here:
- Att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp – counts as the first element (the subject clause)
- är – the finite verb, in second position
- svårt för honom – the rest of the predicate
So the structure fits Swedish rules:
- [Subject clause] [Verb] [Complement]
- Att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp är svårt för honom.
Yes, that sentence is also correct and very natural:
- Det är svårt för honom att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp.
Difference in feeling:
Att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp är svårt för honom.
Emphasizes the actions themselves (Taking responsibility and accepting help is difficult for him.)Det är svårt för honom att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp.
More common, very natural; emphasizes his experience of difficulty (It is difficult for him to take responsibility and accept help.)
Both are fine; the second version is probably the one you’ll hear more often in everyday speech.
Both exist, but they mean slightly different things.
ta ansvar = take responsibility (decide to be responsible, act responsibly)
- Du måste ta ansvar för dina handlingar.
You must take responsibility for your actions.
- Du måste ta ansvar för dina handlingar.
ha ansvar = have responsibility (be in charge, have it as a duty/role)
- Hon har ansvar för projektet.
She has responsibility for the project / She is responsible for the project.
- Hon har ansvar för projektet.
In your sentence, the focus is on his willingness or ability to act responsibly, so ta ansvar is the natural choice.
Yes, both are possible, but with a slight nuance difference:
acceptera hjälp
- More about the mental / emotional acceptance of the idea of being helped.
- Feels a bit more formal or psychological.
ta emot hjälp
- Literally “receive / take in help” – more about the actual act of letting someone help you, accepting their concrete actions.
So:
Att ta ansvar och acceptera hjälp är svårt för honom.
Suggests that admitting he needs help and accepting the idea of help is hard.Att ta ansvar och ta emot hjälp är svårt för honom.
Focuses more on actually letting others help him in practice.
Both are grammatically correct and understandable.